Vanes-Lara Rematch Purse Bid is Won By Golden Boy

By Mike Coppinger

According to Vanes Martirosyan's uncle Serge Martirosyan, the WBC purse bid for the rematch between Erislandy Lara and Vanes Martirosyan was won by Golden Boy on Friday for $410,000. The rematch was mandated to decide the No. 1 contender to the 154-pound belt held by Saul "Canelo"Alvarez after their original WBC eliminator in Nov. ended in a technical draw.

Martirosyan (32-0-1, 20 KOs) mounted an early lead before Lara (17-1-2, 11 KOs) came on late. In the ninth, an accidental clash of heads caused a nasty gash over Martirosyan's left eye, causing referee Jay Nady to stop the bout. The result was a split draw, with one judge shading it for Lara, 87-84, one scoring it for Martirosyan, 86-85, with the final card even at 86-86.

The original fight was carried by HBO as a Boxing After Dark, but it's unclear where the second encounter will land.

Mike Coppinger is a contributor to USA TODAY's boxing coverage. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger

[QUOTE=AddiX;12909099]here we are, about to get the rematch, that no one asked for. I hope to god no networks pick this garbage up.[/QUOTE]Whay dont you hope for something better such as hoping it makes it to TV and hope both…

[QUOTE=tiko123;12910709]Hope Lara doesn't leave his balls at home and comes to fight. All that running and dirty tactics were a disgrace, at least Vanes came ready to go to war and give the fans what they wanted, without the dirty…

Hope Lara doesn't leave his balls at home and comes to fight. All that running and dirty tactics were a disgrace, at least Vanes came ready to go to war and give the fans what they wanted, without the dirty…